Michigan Becomes Seventh State This Year to Raise Minimum Wage

Move Is the First in 2014 by Republican Leadership

Michigan has become the first Republican-controlled state to join a recent wave of local minimum-wage increases, marking a potential shift in the battle over the issue heading into the November elections.

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved an increase to $9.25 an hour from $7.40 by 2018 in Michigan, setting one of the highest pay floors in the Midwest. The deal was an effort to quash a potential ballot proposal for a larger increase that...